Books
Do you ever give up on a book you aren’t enjoying?
I very rarely, if ever, do. I don’t know if it’s because I believe there is always a chance it will improve and only when I’ve finished the last page do I realise that’s not going to happen, or if it’s because I am slightly obsessive-compulsive, but I am currently reading The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova and I’m just over a third of the way through and I really just can’t be arsed with it any more, but I can’t make myself give it up.
I *want* to be able to not care about the rest of the book and just give it to somebody else who might enjoy it, but I just can’t make myself. Worst thing is that there’s an Ian McEwan book on my shelf which I’m itching to read, but because I only ever read a couple of pages at a time of the book i’m on (because i’m not really enjoying it) it’s taking AGES to finish it!!
If it’s reading habits we’re talking about, then I’m your antithesis! I’ve wasted so much money on books I just couldn’t get into.
I’d see a book, with a nice design, read the synopsis, then a couple of paragraphs. And if I like it so far, I’ll buy it. Talk about judging a book by it’s cover!
Then when I get home, I’ll start it properly. That’s when things go wrong. I’ll abandon a book, if by the end of chapter one, nothing appeals to me. Or if the pace is extremely slow. Another reason for abandonment, is when the writing is just ‘hard’ to read, when it just doesn’t flow, or if I find the phrasing ‘jarring’.
I should really borrow books from the library. But I spent so much of my childhood pocket money on paying late fees, it’s scarred me for life! I rarely rent DVDs either for that reason. I often have nightmares, where I’m at Blockbusters, about to pay for my rental, and they tell me ,”Oh, our system says your last rental is 287 days overdue” Cue scary music, and shakey, zoom effect camera moves!
Comment on June 5, 2006 @ 6:33 pm
Hmmm….I’ve given up on a few books but not many. Some of them I’ve gone back and tried again with mixed success.
It took me 3 goes to read the Thomas Covenant series but I’ve now read it twice. The most memorable books that I just threw from me are Gerald’s Game by Stephen King and the Gormenghast series that I’ve tried and failed on quite a few times. That last one is really hard work and depressing
Comment on June 8, 2006 @ 10:03 am